9/01/2009 @ 6:00PM

American Express To Card Holders: 'Spend Responsibly'

American Express
is rolling out a major new campaign for its charge card that urges consumers to take responsibility for their spending. The tagline: “Don’t Take Changes. Take Charge.”

The ad campaign broke Tuesday with full-page print ads in major newspapers. It is the first for its basic charge card since 2002. The print ads, part of a campaign that will include TV commercials and radio promotions, features a wallet with a sad face, until you turn the ad upside down. “Why welcome risk into your life?” asks one print ad. “The Charge Card can make a big difference,” the ad says.

The ad effort, from
WPP Group’s
Ogilvy & Mather, aims to encourage cardholders to use plastic instead of cash. It’s also supposed to make
American Express
look like a company that cares about its cardholders–not just how much they spend. Starting this weekend consumers will see TV spots during the U.S. Open, evoking them to “take charge.”

Better known in recent years for letting many customers keep a balance and pay the interest that accumulated, the company’s new charge card campaign comes just after the enactment of the first credit card reform (requiring credit card issuers to warn consumers 45 days in advance of rate increases). It also comes as recession-racked consumers are still watching how much they spend.

The number of credit cards issued this year has decreased 39%, causing further concern for card companies already dealing with financial setbacks. AmEx’s second-quarter revenue, reported in late July, dropped 18% to $6.09 billion and profits plunged 48%.

“Coming out of these tough economic times, we need refocus on our customers and give them a sense of greater control,” says Deborah Curtis, vice president of global advertising at American Express.

The campaign may also be an attempt to regain the confidence of financial analysts, who claimed last month AmEx was sacrificing its brand for the sake of marketing cuts. The New York company slashed $311 million from its marketing budget in the second quarter, down 47% from the same period last year. But it still spent $352 million. Visa’s second-quarter marketing budge was $229 million, while
MasterCard
shelled out $181 million, says TNS Media Intelligence.

AmEx’s marketing budget has hinged on the positioning of loan write-offs, which came down to 9.2% in the second quarter, from 10% in the first. If write-offs continue to drop, AmEx will put more money back into their advertising and promotional budget, says AmEx company spokeswoman Joanna Lambert.